Now You Have Your Cake
by TheSecretsSafeWithMe
Summary: Lorelai and Chris can get started. The devil's in the details.
1. The Disappearing Act of 2002

**AN: So I'm back. It feels like only yesterday. This is part one of my new series. Takes place around Sookie's wedding in, "I Can't Get Started".**

The reception was being held behind The Independence Inn. The layout was simple, yet elegant. A large tent was set up with table and chairs, holding most of the wedding guests. Others congregated around the bar, the tables with food, under the trees by the barn. There was a slight breeze, and the sun was slowly beginning to go down. The soft music was nearly drowned out by the incoherent wave of chatter settling on the crowd.

Lorelai makes her way to a table filled with food. She grabs a strawberry off of the tray and pops it into her mouth.

Suddenly, strong arms wrap around her from behind startling her. She giggles as she realizes its Christopher. He smiles and places a small kiss on her shoulder. His curly hair brushes her cheek.

"Where'd you run off to?" she asks, turning around in his arms.

"Trying to find my phone. Why? Did you miss me?" he asks smugly.

She grins at him, shaking her head, "Anyone ever tell you you're conceited?"

"Hey, I don't blame you. I'm 'Pretty Fly For A White Guy'." He smiles playfully.

Her eyes widen at his reference, and she leans back from him disbelieving. "Please tell me you did not just quote _The Offspring_."

He laughs and shakes his head, preparing himself for their usual battle.

"And their worst song at that!" she continues, smiling.

He pulls her in tighter, "It's 'Sad But True'."

She raises her eyebrows and leans back into him, "There you go!"

He shakes his head laughing, "You're so easy."

She slaps his chest and scoffs, pretending to be offended. He just kisses her temple and she gives in easily, sighing contently.

She breaks the comfortable silence, "So, any luck?"

He raises his eyebrows, "With?"

"Your phone."

"No. Haven't seen it since last night. It'll turn up though." He brushes a piece of her hair off her shoulder, fingers lingering on her skin. "Let's get out of here."

She looks at him amused, "Chris, it's Sookie's wedding."

"She won't even notice we're gone." To further punctuate his point he motions over to the table where Sookie and Jackson are sitting, smiling at each other. Jackson says something and Sookie laughs.

Lorelai focuses her attention back to Chris and smiles wickedly, "What'd you have in mind?"

He smiles, victory playing on his features. "Come on."

He grabs her hand and pulls her around the corner of the inn.

"Where are we going?" she laughs, as he tugs her towards the parking lot.

----S----

He immediately turns the radio on obnoxiously loud as they pull onto the road. She smiles as he grabs her hand, holding it as he drives.

"Turn down the radio!" she nearly yells, so he can hear her.

"What?" he asks innocently, a devious grin on his face.

Lorelai smirks and reaches over with her free hand and turns the knob down. "You'll never grow up will you?" she asks smiling, the tone finally at a normal decibel level again.

"Oh come on Lore. We used to listen to music twice that loud when we were younger. Remember, back when we were the coolest kids in school."

She shakes her head, grinning, "I'm surprised we're not deaf."

He squeezes her hand. "You wanna go get some coffee?"

Lorelai freezes, but Chris seems oblivious. She hadn't spoken to Luke since she had walked out of the diner a few days ago.

"Let's just drive."

Chris smiles and turns towards the highway.

----S----

The road is empty and Christopher had somehow managed to convince Lorelai to turn the music back up. She watches out of the window thoughtfully. The sun had set a few minutes ago and the dim moon now struggled to light the skies. Christopher hums along with the song and Lorelai lightly drums her fingers on her leg.

The serene moment is suddenly disrupted with a loud noise, and then a rhythmic, dull thud comes from the right back tire. Lorelai lets out a surprised gasp and Christopher immediately disengages their entwined hands, struggling to pull the car off onto the side of the road.

"Shit!" he exclaims.

"What happened?" Lorelai asks, worried.

"I think we have a flat tire." Christopher successfully parks the car on the side of the road and sighs loudly. "Damn."

Lorelai lets out a nervous laugh, "Triple A?"

He shakes his head unenthusiastically. "Do you know where we are?"

She looks around. "I think we're still pretty close. Daddy taught you how change a flat tire right?" she asks jokingly.

Christopher almost laughs and he rolls his eyes, "Just the image of that man on his back doing anything-"

Lorelai cuts him off smiling, "Dirty!"

Chris ignores her, "Well we could call Rory to come pick us up,"

"Yeah! Good. I knew I liked you for a reason. You're smart. Can't change a tire, but you're pretty."

"But-"

"Oh, don't like that but."

"But," he continues, "My phone's great disappearing act of 2002."

Lorelai's face falls. "Right."

"And yours?"

"Is back at the inn."

"Oh."

"Yep."

Christopher sighs, "Okay, now don't get too hopeful, but-"

"Oh I like that but!"

He smiles continuing, "But, I've seen someone change a tire. I could try."

"Oh! Entertainment while we wait for someone to drive by and save us."

"Such little faith."

"Christopher, I've seen you try and change a toilet paper roll."

"It was defective and you know it."

She smiles and hops out of the car. He pops the trunk and gets out as well.

"What are you doing?" She looks at the trunk. "You aren't going to stuff me in there are you? I promise I won't laugh."

He chuckles, "No. Rumor has it spare tires can be found back there."

"Oh whew. Good. I'm slightly scared of enclosed places."

He smiles and starts rummaging through the various items. He pushes them all back and pulls up the flooring revealing the tire. They both smile at the discovery.

"So far, I must say, I'm impressed."

"Don't get too excited. That's the easy part."

He removes the jack and various other tools, looking at them all skeptically trying to decipher what they do, and then takes out the tire. Lorelai let's out a few "Woo-hoo"s as he carries the items to the side of the road.

"Look at my man work!" He smiles and removes his suit coat handing it to her. She places it over her shoulders. "You are very chivalrous tonight."

He laughs, "I didn't want to get it dirty."

"You had me at hello," she deadpans.

He rubs his hands up and down her arms. "Here we go."

"You know what you're doing?"

"No idea," He smiles. "But I think this thing," he picks up the jack, "Is supposed to lift up the car."

Lorelai looks at him skeptically. "That thing is tiny."

"Sometimes size doesn't matter." Lorelai smirks, but Christopher cuts her off, "Dirty, I know. It was too easy, even for you."

She smiles, "Okay, get to it big, strong, capable man. I'll just stand here and swoon."

Christopher takes the jack and lays back on the ground looking under the car with a flashlight that had been also stored with the tire. "Umm, I'm not sure where it goes."

Lorelai carefully squats in her dress to help him look. She points to a spot under the bumper. "How about there?"

Chris shrugs, "Worth a shot." He takes the jack and places it under the spot. He begins to crank it until it is even with the car, Lorelai smiles giddily. He continues cranking, but the car doesn't seem to be moving, and he struggles to continue. He grunts in defeat as the car refuses to rise.

"Aww man," Lorelai whines.

Christopher looks at her, "Your spot did not work."

"This is like a major déjà vu."

"Huh?"

Lorelai smiles, "Nevermind. I don't think it was the spot. I think it was the man behind the crank! I'm making a mental note that I need a man who can change a tire!" she exclaims playfully.

Christopher pulls himself from under the car and grabs her waist playfully. "I can change your tire," he says suggestively.

She smiles, "Oh yeah?"

"Anytime."

She raises her eyebrows, "Yeah?"

He pulls her close and takes her lips with his kissing her fervently. Disregarding her dress, her squat turns into a kneel; level with him, collapsing in his arms.

Suddenly a pair of headlights light up the two brightly. They part quickly, and turn their faces away from the bright lights. Christopher stands up and pulls Lorelai up with him. They fall into each other laughing at their predicament.

"Busted," Christopher jokes.

The headlights turn off and a door opens and closes.

Lorelai looks up and stops laughing immediately. Chris follows her gaze, startled by her reaction.

"Luke."

**TBC**


	2. Amends, In The General Sense

** AN: First and foremost, just wanted to thank Anon for pointing out my faux pas in chapter one. My mind was in season five on that one! Thankfully, I edited it timely, so hopefully many of you are confused by this gratitude. Thanks everyone for your input. And to those who want to know what pairing this story will be, I ask, what's the fun in that?**

There are very few things that Luke actually hates. Sure, there are many things he dislikes, (coffee, crowds, public displays of affection – just to name a few), but only a handful of things he actually hates. Of those few things, being surprised is one of them.

Surprises had never lead to anything great for him. At his surprise thirteenth birthday party, he had opened the door to his dark living room and had quickly went for the light switch. Instead of finding the switch, he had found Jenny Cohen's jaw. It was the first, and only time he had ever hit a girl. Albeit unintentional, he had never quite forgiven himself. She had cried and instead of the normal "Surprise!", he had received a gasp from the group of celebrators. That was the day he had given up on asking Jenny Cohen to the middle school dance.

When he was eighteen, Rachel had called him and told him she had a 'surprise' for him. When he had gone over to her house to find out the good news, she had flashed him a letter of acceptance to Columbia College in Chicago. Happy for his girlfriend, he had smiled, and hugged her in congratulations, attempting to ignore his heart making itself at home in his stomach. It was exactly seven months later that she had left, the first time.

And now, here he stood, frozen in place, realization and embarrassment surrounding him, words and concept of time escaping him. _He _was back. And in all of the possible ways that statement could be perceived, her being in his arms on the side of the road was perhaps, his least favorite.

He had actually grinned when he pulled up. He'd seen the Massachusetts license plate and he'd seen the couple, happy, appearing to be very much in love. He'd thought, honeymoon. He was always one to help those out in need. And it looked as if these two had been in a hurry to get somewhere fast. Reflecting back, his stomach growling could have been his body's way of warning him to drive on, not stop, not interrupt. Of course, Luke, being Luke, had stopped to see if he could help. He had ignored his stomach's warnings, figuring he could change a tire and be back on the road to Sniffy's in five minutes flat.

He shifted nervously, foot-to-foot, not sure of what to say. Lorelai's mouth hadn't closed since she'd seen him, and it had taken Christopher a few seconds to recognize him. Once realization swept Christopher's face, he jumped to action, walking towards Luke.

"Oh thank god!" Chris approaches Luke, reaching his hand out to Luke who takes it hesitantly. As they shake hands, Chris continues, "Thank god it's you. I've already failed at the changing the tire thing. Didn't want to have to fail at the defending my woman thing as well." He laughs and Luke squeezes his hand a little harder. When Chris pulls his hand back, he shakes it jokingly. "Some grip you got there."

Luke smirks, and Christopher turns back to Lorelai, who remains standing shell-shocked by the car. Lorelai smiles at him stiffly, glancing at Luke, and averting her eyes quickly, the redness still ever present in her cheeks.

She tries to shake off her shock and uneasiness, plastering a smile on her face. She looks back at Luke and manages a simple, "Thanks for stopping Luke."

Christopher starts to move back towards Lorelai and Luke begrudgingly follows. As he reaches the car, Christopher puts his hands on his hips, looking at the flat.

"So, can you change a tire?"

This makes Lorelai laugh, surprising Luke and herself. Chris smiles and wraps his arm around her shoulders. "Oh, you think that's funny?"

Lorelai smiles at him, "Oh sweetie, of course Luke can change a tire."

Luke uncomfortably smiles at them but quickly looks at the tire. He realizes he hadn't said anything yet in this uncomfortable situation. He clears his throat and bends down, taking survey of the damage.

"It doesn't look like the rim or axle was damaged."

"Uh huh. And the circular thing is no longer inflated," Lorelai jokingly adds, authoritatively.

Chris smiles and speaks to Luke, "So it's fixable?"

Luke turns towards them, "Yep, will just take a few minutes."

"Yay!" Lorelai exclaims, attempting to lighten the mood between her and Luke. He smiles faintly and returns to work.

He moves the jack to the other side of the wheel. Christopher turns to Lorelai, "See I thought that's where it went."

Lorelai looks at him shocked, "You never said that!"

"It's what I was thinking the whole time," he speaks unconvincingly and grins.

Lorelai smiles at him, hitting his chest, "You can't change a tire and you're a liar!"

Christopher smiles and pulls her closer with his arm. She sighs and Luke jacks the car up, putting more force than necessary in each turn. Lorelai turns to Christopher, "You need to take notes hon."

"Nah, I'll just get triple A," he returns grinning.

Luke turns and starts looking through the various items on the ground. Wary, he looks up at Christopher, "You know where the key to your lock-nuts is?"

Lorelai laughs, and Christopher smirks at her. Luke sighs, rolling his eyes. Chris answers, as he turns away from Lorelai, "No. That's the round thing to get the tire off right?"

Luke sighs, "Yeah. It's pretty important. Maybe it's in your glove compartment?"

"I'll check."

Christopher heads towards the front of the car and climbs in the passenger seat, leaving Luke and Lorelai alone. Lorelai smiles awkwardly at him.

"So thanks again."

Luke stoically answers, "It's no problem."

"Well thanks anyway." Luke purses his lips together and nods. Lorelai leans towards him speaking lower, "Look Luke, I don't want it to be this way with us anymore."

"So he's back huh?"

Lorelai's slightly thrown by the change of topic but quickly recovers defensively, "Yes. He's here for Rory," she continues a little hesitantly, "And for me."

Luke rolls his eyes, "For how long this time?"

Lorelai glances nervously towards Christopher who's still rummaging through the glove compartment. She turns back to Luke and whispers angrily, "He's here now. That's what matters. He's trying to make things right. Unlike some people I know," she finishes with a touch of accusation.

Luke looks at her angrily and opens his mouth to respond as Christopher jumps out of the car.

"Found it!"

Lorelai turns to Christopher and smiles the best smile she can muster under the circumstances, but he's too proud to notice.

"See I'm not that clueless." He holds up the silver object, showing Lorelai and then handing it to Luke. He immediately finds Lorelai's side, kissing her temple. Luke wordlessly begins to take the wheel off.

Christopher feels Lorelai shift uncomfortably beside him. He turns to towards her worried. "Hey what's wrong?"

She looks at him, a smile faint across her lips. "It's nothing." She leans in and kisses him hurried, reassuringly. "I'm just going to wait in the car okay?"

Christopher looks at her confused but manages, "Oh, okay."

She removes herself from his grasp and walks towards the car. He watches her go.

For as long as he knew her, Lorelai Gilmore was still a mystery to him sometimes. He knew most of her faces. Like when she was angry with him but she was trying to hide it. He could always tell when she was sad, or happy, or, like the day she told him she was pregnant, a mixture of the two. If she was hungry, he knew. There were eyes that told him she wanted him, and there were eyes that told him she just wanted sleep. But sometimes, like now, her face held none of the above. It was an uncertainty in her features, a far off look that worried him. Something that made his stomach churn and his heart heavy.

She closes the door and Christopher turns, silently watching as Luke works. He lifts the spare tire into place when Christopher speaks up, "What did you say to her?" His tone was neither angry nor accusatory; it was more worried and sincere. And that made Luke uncomfortable.

He exhales deeply as he sits the tire into position and starts screwing it into place. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Christopher nods silently, glancing back towards Lorelai. "I just don't want to screw this up."

Luke finishes tightening all the nuts into place. The thought that maybe Lorelai was right, that maybe he was actually going to try this time, runs through Luke's head as he cranks the car down. Guilt runs hot through his veins as tire makes contact with the ground. He sighs and stands, turning towards Christopher. He takes the key, placing it roughly in Chris's hand. "Then don't."

Christopher takes the key and nods. "That's the plan."

Lorelai watches as Luke's truck drives off. She sighs heavily, but as Christopher opens the door, she tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear and smiles.

"So it's all fixed?"

Christopher sits next to her silently, and then rests his hand on her leg, facing her. After a second of studying her face, "Did something happen between you and Luke?"

She looks at him confused and opens her mouth to speak, but he starts again.

"I mean I won't be mad if it did." He looks hesitant but quickly continues, "I mean it's over now right?"

Lorelai recoils slightly, understanding. And then she smiles at him, amused. "Nothing happened between me and Luke."

"So you aren't sleeping together?"

"Currently, no. While you were off looking for the nut key though, that's another story," she states, feigning seriousness.

He smiles and squeezes her leg, "Good."

She returns his smile and he cranks the car. "It's a lock-nut key by the way."

Lorelai looks shocked and smiles brightly at him. "There's hope for you yet!"

He laughs and puts the car into drive, pulling back onto the road.

**TBC**


	3. Lost and Lost Again

**AN: Hello. So I was really unhappy with the previously posted chapter three, hence the reposting. I just didn't have my heart in that chapter; it was sort-of done half-assedly. I apologize and assure you, I'm back in. Enjoy.**

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On the Monday morning after the wedding, Lorelai wakes up with a man in her bed. The details were a bit hazy after all of the champagne consumed upon returning to the inn, but Lorelai was certain the form that lay beside her was the one and only Christopher. She sighs, and snuggles closer to his warm body.

At her small motion, she realizes that these past two mornings were the only times she had ever actually woken up beside the father of her daughter. And that knowledge makes her heart warm with comfort.

In their earlier relationship, the two were more concerned with making it to dinner on time or venturing back to their bedroom unnoticed. It had been all about secret trysts. Her bed, his, the balcony, the pool house. She giggles at the memories of them hurriedly putting their clothes back on and straightening their respective appearances. Lorelai would have to put a great deal of work into fixing her hair and Chris always tended to be more aware of every crink and wrinkle in his freshly steamed pants.

But never in their pubescent rendezvous' did they ever wake up next to each other. But now, here they were, 17 years later, wrapped tightly in each other's arms. She feels encompassed in a bubble of safety, knowing the man beside her knows and understands her more than anyone in the world. She would usually put Rory at the top of that list, but there were certain things that Rory would never know, nor need to know. She had never held a torch to Christopher in the past, knowing his imperfections and child-like tendencies, but today, laying in bed so peacefully together, it all just seemed so perfect.

Lorelai looks up to Chris and smiles as he continues to sleep soundly. Her heart drops knowing that tomorrow he will be returning to Boston for work, so she memorizes his sleeping figure and takes comfort in knowing that he'll be back on Saturday. She slowly pulls away from him and tiptoes to the bathroom, preparing for her day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When he finds her an hour later, she's standing in front of the coffee pot.

"Aw man! I wanted to make you coffee this morning."

She turns to him and smiles, holding out the empty coffeepot, "It's not too late."

He smiles and approaches her, leaning in for a kiss. "Good morning."

"Good morning to you," she replies cheerfully.

He stands in front of her for a second, grinning. Her smile turns into a teasing frown when he doesn't move from his position. She brings the pot up to his eye line and groans. He smiles and takes the pot from her, moving to the sink to fill it up with water.

She happily moves to the table, taking a seat. "So sheet-stealer, did you sleep well?"

He looks at her incredulous, "Sheet-stealer?"

"Um hum, you stole the sheets from right over me, leaving my helpless, womanly body to weather the elements," she does her best damsel in distress impression.

He laughs, pointing his finger at her, "You, my dear, weathered the elements just fine. I was the one who was forced take refuge in the sheets after the comforter found its way to your side of the bed. And," he adds, punctuating the word defiantly, "When I tried to wrestle a little bit of it back from you, you kicked me!"

She feigns shock, "I did no such thing!"

"Uh huh. Give me about twelve hours and I'll have the bruise on my shin to prove it."

She pouts and he returns to making the coffee grinning.

She smiles as he returns to work, "You sure you know how to work that machine?"

He turns with his mouth open, disbelieving. "Ouch. Low blow to my manhood."

She grins, "Dirty!"

He returns her grin and continues, "Just because I didn't know how to change a tire, does not mean I can not work any mechanic object."

She looks at him pretending to be unconvinced. He rolls his eyes, "Am I ever going to hear the end of that?"

"Nope."

He pours the coffee in two cups and joins her at the table. She takes a sip of her coffee and smiles at him. "Look at us. We're so domestic! Fighting over who stole the sheets the night before and having couple quarrels over morning coffee."

He grins at her giddiness and shakes his head. They fall into a comfortable silence as they drink their coffee.

Suddenly Chris looks up at her, "I'm going to make some shelves for Rory's room. Something for her to put all of her books on."

Lorelai looks touched and smiles widely at him. "That'd be nice."

"It's a promise with a catch…"

"And what's the catch?"

"Maybe we can hear the last of the inability to change a tire thing like five minutes ago?"

She smiles. He was going to build their daughter shelves. He was going to try and make this work. They were going to try and make this work. She figures it's a small price to pay. "Deal."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As Lorelai enters the inn later that morning, she feels relaxed; comfortable. A child-like giddiness crawls up her stomach, thinking of Christopher picking up Rory from school and them spending the afternoon together. Everything was going so well, it seemed as if things had always been this way.

Michel immediately interrupts her giddy reverie, pushing a phone in front of her face.

"Take dis away from me."

Lorelai looks at the phone and then to Michel.

"What's wrong with the phone?"

"It will not stop ringing," he groans.

Lorelai looks at the phone and immediately recognizes it as Chris'. She takes it from him, "Oh. Thanks."

Michel grunts and Lorelai walks towards her office.

As she approaches the door and reaches down to grab her keys, the phone starts to ring. She looks down and sees a name that makes her stomach drop. _Sherry. _

She quickly unlocks her office and goes in, setting the phone down hastily, as if it were about to explode. She stares at the phone worried, as it continues to ring. When it finally quiets, she slowly reaches for the phone. On the screen, the number of missed calls displays on the screen. _26._

Lorelai was usually one for privacy; she had never been a jealous girlfriend or ever felt to need to 'snoop' on any of her boyfriends. But today, curiosity, mixed with the ever-growing sense of insecurity, gets the best of her. She presses 'Ok' and one name, and one name only, comes onto the screen.

Immediately, she turns the phone off and opens her desk drawer dropping it in. She sighs and begins to open the drawer again, and then closes it quickly, defiantly.

Her office phone rings startling her. Warily, she walks to the phone, still glancing at the drawer, as if Sherry herself was about to pop out of it confronting her on her actions. She picks up the phone, "Independence Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"Hey Lor, it's me."

An unfamiliar wave of guilt rushes over her. "Oh hi."

"Could you keep an eye out for my phone today. I'm pretty sure it's around there somewhere."

She winces, pausing, contemplating, and then finally, "Sure. I'll call you if I find it." She drops her head guiltily.

"Thanks. See you later?"

"You bet."

"Bye."

"Bye."

She hangs up the phone and sits at her desk, placing her head firmly on the desk, groaning,

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Later that afternoon, Lorelai gets into her car. Since Christopher and Rory were going to spend the afternoon together in Hartford, Lorelai had offered to go pick up the shelf supplies. She had confided in Christopher that she actually had a long-harbored love of home improvement shops. She admitted a little bit of it was the cute, muscular men in aprons, but it was also that the rows and rows of things she had no idea what they did, mystified her.

She pulls into the parking lot and pulls out the list that Chris had made earlier that day. Even though she had spied him Googling the necessary equipment, the effort that he was making was priceless.

As she walks into the store, she immediately seeks out someone to help her. She had visited this store quite a lot for the many, and essential, improvements made upon her house. She knew it fairly well, but she always welcomed assistance. Not only was it a quick and efficient way to get someone to get all the items for her, it secured her a car-loader when she left. She reasoned that if woman had to menstruate and give birth, men could at least load the car and do the heavy lifting.

The first apron she spots belongs to a cute little sixty-year-old man. Adorable, helping a woman pick out a ceiling fan. Cute, yes. Able to carry her ten flanks of wood to her car without her feeling the need to offer help, no. She continues her search.

A good-looking, twenty-something-year-old man immediately approaches her. She looks at his nametag, "Rhett". 'Too easy' she thinks giddily.

"Hi Ma'am. Can I help you find something?"

She blushes, feigning ignorance, "Well I have this list, but, man, I don't know where to find anything."

He smiles at her taking the list, "Well let's see. I can help you with this."

"Why thank you," she pretends to be looking at his nametag for the first time, "Rhett. You saved me."

He blushes, "Always willing to help a lady in trouble."

She smiles at him at bats her eyelashes a little, for effect.

­­

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A little while later Rhett and Lorelai walk down the last isle. He's pushing a cart full of various items.

He stops in front of various assortments of wood.

"And last, but not least, the wood."

She smiles flirtily to him, "I hear that's very important."

He grins and begins pulling various pieces out.

Lorelai watches him for a second and then begins taking in the other patrons. A father and a small child, a woman trying to gather her own wood, young and probably clueless to the vast resources around her, and, Luke? She startles, looking again to be certain. He turns and meets her gaze, looking equally as shocked, Yep, definitely Luke.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" he asks.

"Shopping," she motions to Rhett. Luke raises his eyebrows, she continues, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Shopping," he responds equally stubborn.

Lorelai forces an awkward smile, "We seem to be running into each other a lot lately."

Luke uncomfortably nods. They both look at one another for a second and then, breaking the silence, Luke asks, "So what are you getting?"

"Stuff for shelves. Christopher's building them for Rory." Luke scoffs and Lorelai gets defensive, "Don't even."

Rhett clears his throat behind Lorelai and she turns to him. "I'm just going to go cut these," he motions to the wood in his hand.

Lorelai smiles thankfully and turns back to Luke. When Rhett is out of earshot she goes back in. "Look, I know you're still upset about the fight, but can you try to refrain from making judgments about my life?"

"I'm not upset about the fight. You apologized, I accepted. Remember?"

She sighs, "Luke, let's not do this here."

"I'm just not believing this guy is in it for the long haul. I know people like him. They come and go as they please, not caring who they hurt in the process."

She crosses her arms in front of her protectively, aggravated, "This is not yours to believe Luke! Why don't you understand that?"

"Hey, I get it! I ju-"

Lorelai angrily cuts him off, "I need this to work!" Her tone drops considerably and she repeats softer, "I just need this to work."

Luke steps back and puts his hands on his hips, signaling surrender. He breathes in deeply and lifts his head to look at Lorelai. "Jess is back," Lorelai looks confused by the sudden change of topic. Luke continues, "I'm buying stuff to finish his room." His tone returns to ice, "I just thought you should know, he's back."

"Yeah Rory told me," Lorelai informs him, defeated. He nods stoically.

They fall back into silence. Luke is the one to break the silence, "Well I'm gonna-" he motions with his thumb towards the wood. Lorelai nods. He gives her one last look and returns to his previous position. She sighs.

Rhett returns and breaks her out of her thoughts, "Alright. That's everything!"

She glances one last time to Luke, then turns towards Rhett, forcing a smile, "Thanks Rhett. Let's go."

**TBC**


	4. I Put The Past Into The Ground

**I finally found it in myself to continue this story. After finding out about the finale I was sure I could never finish this, but here I am. I hope you haven't lost complete interest. Mucho gracias to my beta _River Run_!**

The ride back to Stars Hollow was quiet. For some reason, Lorelai had yet to turn the radio on and her cell phone remained silent in her purse. The wind was whipping through the car, rattling the wood as she drove, howling against the fabric sides of her jeep; making the open flaps of the rear window whip in the wind. But all these things mixed together to form an ambience that her mind understood as silence. It was like an air conditioner you never hear until someone points it out.

She was in a trance-like state, her mind wandering freely. A few times she had snapped out of it, always realizing that she had no memory of the last few miles she had driven. But slowly, the constant howling lulled her back into her daze. Her mind couldn't escape the name that appeared on Chris' phone as she had shoved it into her desk drawer.

The phone taking up residence in her drawer was only delaying the inevitable, and she knew that. Sherry would talk to Chris eventually, and what would be, would be. Lorelai hiding the phone only prolonged her feeling of comfort and security. Reality would return tomorrow. Chris would return to Boston, and phone or no phone, he would have to see Sherry.

Lorelai felt childish, mere steps away from desperately clinging onto Chris' arm and yelling, "Mine!"

These past few days had felt like a dream. She felt happy and like everything was falling into place. But a nagging worry kept trying to invade her head as she glanced in the rearview mirror at the wood stacked in her car. She couldn't help but wonder if this dream that she had always wished for, Christopher getting his life together; them being a family, was going to work the way she had always hoped. The situation wasn't ideal, him still living in Boston, but they could make it work. Couldn't they?

As she mindlessly took the exit to Star's Hollow, she returned to consciousness. She paused at the stop sign, debating. Left would take her home. Then there was right. A right would take her to the Independence Inn. Right would allow her to salvage the scrapings of her self-dignity. She silently cursed Luke for instilling her with such self-doubt.

The way Chris looked at her in the morning should have been enough. But his uncanny ability to charm his way into or out of anything had always been her enemy. While she knew Chris had the best of intentions, sometimes he said things she knew he couldn't possibly mean. With his departure looming on the horizon, Lorelai questioned when he would actually return. He had whispered promises of the weekend and making things work in her ear, and she believed him then. She really wanted to believe him now. Things had been so easy over the past few days. Things had been great. He had given her no reason to doubt him this time. The way he looked at her in the morning should have been enough.

She forcefully turned right, hoping the rough turn would startle Luke's doubtful voice out of her head. They were happy, and they were going to make this work. The distance was only a small factor in the equation.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Lorelai pulls up in the driveway, Chris' phone lying haphazardly in the passenger seat. It had barely moved since Lorelai had tossed it there minutes earlier. She hadn't even glanced at the screen, keeping her resolve. She didn't need to know how many more times Sherry had called while she was gone.

She places the phone into her purse and breathes in deeply. Chris' car was in the driveway. She smiles thinking of him and Rory spending time together today. Her mind danced with visions of Rory dragging Chris through libraries and bookstores and music shops.

Chris comes out of the house, nodding at her and walking towards the back of her car. He begins to pull wood out as she removes the key from the ignition and walks towards him to meet him. He stands looking at the wood disbelieving.

"This is a lot of wood."

Lorelai smiles and nods, knowing that he is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount of materials presented to him.

"It is. You think you can handle it?" It's a loaded question. She wants him to assure her that this will work. She wants him to convince her he's ready. Her nervousness seems to go unnoticed to Christopher as he simply gives her a small laugh and continues unloading the car.

They toss the pieces onto the lawn in silence. Lorelai thinks of the phone in her purse. She places her load on the grass and walks to the front of the car, reaching in and grabbing the phone. The longer she waits, the more suspicious it might seem.

She turns around to him with a smile plastered on her face. "Hey look what I found today."

He looks at her and smiles as she tosses it to him.

"See, I didn't check the home improvement store," he scoffs jokingly, "And I thought I had covered all my bases."

Lorelai laughs to humor him. She laughs even though she knows that when he looks on the screen, his face would tell her everything. And perhaps, an uncomfortable, but necessary conversation would take place.

"I found it at the inn this afternoon."

Finally, he looks down to check the phone, and she watches him intently. His expression doesn't change and she looks puzzled. He sticks the phone in his pocket and looks back up to her.

"Just business stuff."

She smiles stiffly. _Business stuff?_

He returns to unloading the wood and she opens her mouth to ask him what exactly 'business stuff' entailed. She wonders if he even saw that Sherry had called. Again, lost in her trance, Chris finishes the unloading and stands in front of her.

"Lor?"

She snaps out of it and looks at him.

"Your life is in Boston. Your job, your place. _Sherry." _It comes out unexpectedly and she doesn't mean to spit out Sherry's name like that. Chris is taken aback by her tone, and she knows she had to have sounded like a jealous preteen. She grimaces slightly at her outburst and watches as he takes in her accusation. It was out. She couldn't take it back; she had laid her insecurities on the table.

He watches her intently, waiting for an explanation. When nothing comes he steps towards her slightly, "Lorelai, where is all this coming from?"

"What are we doing here? How is this ever going work?"

Christopher drops the wood he's holding and walks to her. He places his hands on her shoulders.

"I've told you, we'll make it work."

"How? Are you going to visit every weekend from Boston? Phone calls every night? You'll be in your car more than we'll see you! We're too old to do the long distance thing."

She sniffles a little and Christopher starts rubbing her shoulders soothingly,

"Hey, hey. We can make it work if we want to."

"I'm just starting to think we can't."

Christopher's face falls.

"No Lor. We've been having a great time. Me and you. We work."

Lorelai lowers her voice and calmly states, "I'm just scared that the reality will never live up to the fantasy."

"This is reality. The wedding. That was real. The shelves. Rory." _Rory. _Lorelai watches Chris's face distort from pleading to guilt-stricken to panicked. "Rory."

Lorelai looks at him scared and skeptic.

"Chris, where's Rory?"

"Oh Lorelai…" he tries to preemptively soothe her apologetically.

Lorelai asks again, harder. Her own worries momentarily forgotten.

"Chris, where's Rory!"

"At school," he says, dipping his head sheepishly.

"You forgot. You forgot! Of course you forgot!" She starts walking quickly to her car.

"Lor, I'm sorry! I had to go get my tire changed from the flat the other night. I couldn't go to Boston on the spare. I just forgot. I'm sorry." He catches up with her at her car and lightly touches her shoulder, "Lor…where are you going?"

"To get our daughter!"

"Look, I'm sorry!" he begins to get a little defensive but Lorelai gives back as good as she gets.

"Christopher, all day I've been convincing myself that this will work. That we can be a family; that you have finally grown up! You let her down Christopher. I thought things were going to be different this time."

"They are different!"

"No Chris! They aren't. Our daughter was counting on you today. She was so excited last night. She's so excited that you are back in our lives. And the first chance you get, you disappoint her! I can't do this to her. I can't tell her that things are going to be different and not be able to count on you. You turn me into a liar. I don't want to lie to my kid."

"Our kid! It was me! I forgot. I'll take all the blame."

Lorelai shakes her head frustrated, "You don't get it do you? It's not about who is to blame."

"Lor…"

"I need to go."

"I'll go. Let me please. I screwed up. Please let me do this. For Rory."

"You should go."

"Thank you. We'll be back soon. I'll make this up to her-"

"No Chris. You should go back to Boston."

His face falls.

"No Lor."

Lorelai gets in her car defeated. Christopher grabs the door before she can shut it.

"I'm sorry Lor. Don't do this."

"Your life is in Boston now."

"My life is you and Rory."

"Christopher."

"I love you guys. I want to make this work. I can make this up to you guys. Go get Rory, bring her home, and I'll make dinner for us. We can watch movies, laugh and I'll show you what a good boyfriend I can be. What a good father I can be!"

Lorelai shakes her head sadly.

"No Chris. I thought this could work. The three of us being a family. I was stupid. I was being selfish. Rory needs a father. Someone she can depend on."

"I am her father! I can be a good father!"

"I know Chris. I know you can. But that needs to be your priority. Both of our priorities. Not this. Not our relationship. We owe her that much."

"Lorelai! We deserve to be happy too!"

"But you can't handle it Chris. I know you think you can, but you can't."

"Lorelai this is crazy! I can handle it! I love you guys. We can be a family. We were doing so good!"

"Christopher you live in Boston. We'd have you part time. And that's fine for Rory. She's used to it. She doesn't deserve it, but she's used to it. I just can't. Not two days a week Chris. Not when you have so much to make up for with Rory. She should be your priority. Not me."

"I can move!"

"Chris you have a great job. A great apartment. A car. You're finally settled down. You can't leave that. You've worked for that for years. You can't leave that. I'm not going to ask you to."

"Lorelai. I'm finally what you've always waited for me to become. You always said when I settled down, we could make it work! We can make it work now!"

Lorelai shakes her head sadly, "I thought it was what I was waiting for, but I need you to be a father to Rory. You've proved that you can handle only one Gilmore girl, and I need it to be her."

"No Lorelai."

"I have to go. Please, just pack your things. Go back to Boston." She places her hand gently over his. "I've had a wonderful time this week. You are a good man, and I know you mean well. But I needed you to prove to me that you could be a partner to me and a father to Rory."

"I just forgot Lor! An innocent mistake. You know I love Rory more than I can express. Give me another chance. Please!"

"Call Rory tonight when you get back okay? I'll explain the rest," she says as she cranks her car.

Defeated, Chris steps back from her car.

"So this is it?"

"I'm sorry Chris."

"This is it," he concludes.

"I just need more. I need more than you can offer me. Rory needs more than her mom's boyfriend. She needs her father."

Chris lowers his head defeated.

"I thought we could do this."

"Me too."

"Tell Rory I'm sorry."

"I will."

And with that, Lorelai pulls out of the driveway; leaving Chris standing in her yard that they would never share, surrounded by the wood for shelves that he would never build.

**TBC**


End file.
